Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism -

Sandra D. Mitchell

Cambridge University Press

2003

261 páginas

8h 42m

ISBN-13: 9780511061202

Thiscollectionofessaysdefendsintegrativepluralismasthebestdescription oftherelationshipofscientifictheories,models,andexplanationsofcomplex biologicalphenomena.Complexityisendemicinbiology,butitisconstituted byvariousfeaturesofmulticomponent,multilevel,evolvedsystems.Thetypes of scientific representations and the very methods we use to study biological systems must reflect both that complexity and variety. Developing models of single causal components, such as the effects of genetic variation, or of single-level interactions, such as the operation of selection on individuals, give valuable, if partial, accounts. These explanations need to be integrated in order to understand what historical, proximal, and interactive processes generate the array of biological phenomena we observe.